


The Last Starlight Story

by LittleLinor



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ciel Verse, Crossover, Gen, Multi, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 09:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3932299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLinor/pseuds/LittleLinor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zexal/Ciel crossover. </p><p>Or: that time Yuuma accidentally soulbonded with the apocalypse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sacae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacae/gifts), [o0whitelily0o](https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0whitelily0o/gifts).



> For those not familiar with the canon, Ciel can be found [here](http://reader.evilflowers.com/series/ciel/). I'll try to give relevant worldbuilding information in-text as I go, but reading the first volumes at least will make things clearer (most information about the magic system is in volumes 3 and 4, though you'd need to read the whole thing to understand all the story parallels I'm pulling here)  
> EITHER WAY I REALLY RECOMMEND CIEL please read it it has canon queer characters and magic and pretty boys and girls in uniforms and pretty dresses what more do you want?
> 
> I hesitated for a long time on whether I should just cisswap Yuuma or have her be trans, and finally decided the latter actually added something to the story, considering the way Ciel handles gender. It won't be a cause of major angst, but it'll be touched on briefly here and there. So be wary if the subject makes you uncomfortable, but I promise not to pull any gross nonconsensual "reveals" in this story.

The day sky above Yuuma's head is pebbled with starlight.  
It spreads over the city, brilliant and blinding, cold warmth that tingles on her skin, rings in her ears. It drowns out the screams, almost, the fear that had seized her like everyone else when the school's emergency bell rang and they were all called out for evacuation (too late, the older students in charge were muttering, too late). She'd been scared like everyone else at first, or maybe not quite--fear, yes, but also a kind of curiosity, watching everything unfold around her like time itself slowed down, students running past her, Kotori grabbing her hand to pull her along...  
When she had come out into the courtyard, she'd heard the voice of the stars.  
A monster, Kaito had explained at Kotori's urging while Yuuma stared up, wordless. And a big one, at that, one capable of creating its own reality to enter this world. Without Master Eliphas--  
Yuuma extends her arm and reaches towards the sky.  
It feels like plunging her hand into an ocean of light.  
"The sky..."  
It's just barely out of her reach, just a breath away, and maybe if she runs, like she always does when she's trying to catch up to the wind itself, maybe if she _jumps_ \--  
"Yuuma!"  
Her foot pushes off the ground without so much as an impulse, and she's flying, the light in her hand hauling her up towards the sky as she tries with all her strength to catch it.

Under her, she hears screams again, of her name this time. She looks down, briefly, catches Kotori's panicked face and Kaito's hardened one, but the call of the stars is too strong and she looks up again, towards the sky and its eerie, wonderful canopy of starlight. She wonders if the monster is as big as the city, or if it's simply its spell that takes this shape.  
The higher she goes, the thicker the stars' tingle on her skin gets, like fur brushing against her. But the closer she gets to the source of the light, the... colder it feels.  
Cold, and almost sad. Somewhat dead.  
Stars shouldn't feel dead.  
She gathers her courage, repeats to herself her parents' prayer, the one that saw her safely to Lowood in the first place, and lets herself hover towards the core of the monster's power.

It's so blinding that the world around her seems to almost disappear, the ground below her looking almost completely dark, just a mass of dim movement, crawling at the surface.  
No wonder it's trying to light it up, in its own way. She looks back up, and catches sight of a figure, entirely made of space and twinkling starlight, its skin like the very fabric of the sky.  
"Hey!"  
It turns towards her, and its shape isn't entirely human--there are limbs, yeah, but the proportions are a little off somehow, like it's built for more harmonious movements than humans are allowed.  
It does have a face, though, and eyes almost entirely black.  
_Human._  
The voice resonates through her skin but not her ears, like it's carried by the little particles of light that have been sinking into her all this time.  
"What are you doing?" she asks, out loud because she doesn't know how else to, and maybe she should be angry--everyone was scared after all--but now that she's so far up, all she feels is curiosity. Fascination. And this strange feeling that this monster, like the one she'd talked to before Kaito reduced it to shreds in the attack last month, is infinitely lonely.  
_I am bringing order_ is the simple response, neutral and factual as can be. And then a slight pause, and Yuuma thinks she can hear a hint of something more human in the monster's mind-voice. Or maybe not hear, but feel. _Human, why are you one with the sky?_  
"I am?" She giggles a bit, unsure, because she's pretty sure she's still human, not made of starlight like this creature, but when she looks at herself it's like the light has covered her skin, shining in turn, and it feels like maybe it should hurt but it doesn't.  
_It should,_ is the creature's confirmation, as if it read her thoughts.  
"I don't know--maybe cause I'm fly--" It hits her. "Hey, do you see something around me? Like a circle or something?"  
_I do not_ , it answers, and there's still that inflexion of curiosity in its voice, like they find Yuuma's existence intriguing.  
Well, she's not going to complain.  
"Aww, and there I thought my field had _finally_ opened," she sighs, pouting slightly.  
But if it's not her field, what is it?  
_What is a field?_  
"It's, uh--like a space that comes from your magic. And in that space the rules are different, it depends on the type." She smiles sheepishly. "I never opened mine so I don't know what it is." The monster looks at her with quiet curiosity, so she floats up a little closer and continues. "My friend Kotori, she does something with music--we're not sure how it works yet, but when she opens her field, her voice sounds different and everyone can hear it and sometimes it helps others open theirs too... Still not mine, though."  
_Why do you want your field to open?_  
"Well, I want to know what it is!" From the look on its face (Yuuma thinks she can sort of tell expressions by now, as if it was growing more human at her contact, or maybe it's just because she's closer), the answer isn't enough, so she continues. "It's like having this huge thing inside of me and I don't even know what it _does_! I want to know what it does, I want to _do_ things. I want..." she trails off, a sudden wave of weariness washing over her. "... hey, why are you trying to 'bring order' anyway?"  
_It is what I was made to be. And what the universe was meant to be. I am merely reverting this place to its natural state._  
And the stars feel so cold on Yuuma's skin, cold and sad, and it's not how it's meant to be, her heart cries out. Stars are supposed to be warm. Stars are the light of hope that children follow in the dark.  
"Won't that..." she shivers. "Won't that be lonely?"  
_Lonely?_  
"If you turn everything to nothing... you'll be all alone."  
_I am always alone._  
It's sad, all of it, the dark light in the creature's unblinking eyes, the way it doesn't even have a word for the feeling Yuuma gets from its cold starlight.  
Suddenly, caught up in the sky with only the silent glitter of the stars, Yuuma feels very lonely herself.  
"... hey, you're not in a hurry, right?"  
The creature meets her with silence, but there is no hostility in its feeling against Yuuma's skin. Only patience and curiosity.  
"Will you come with me? I want to show you something."  
_Why?_  
"You see..." she shudders, and laughs a little, because she feels pretty stupid, suddenly, and its head tilts slightly, watching her. "... I think I was wrong. I think I opened my field after all." And then quietly, because of course it wouldn't know what that means, or why there's this fear rising in Yuuma's lungs when she stops to think about it: "I'm going to die."  
_What do you mean?_  
"To die--stop moving, stop existing. Witches can't leave their field alone, you see, and I don't have a familiar, so..." She chuckles, half nerves and half actual ironic amusement. "Well, you were already trying to do that, I guess."  
_Why did you open your field?_  
It sounded confused, like the idea of fear was becoming familiar. Yuuma shrugged, hiding the urge to sob behind another chuckle.  
"I didn't do it on purpose. I just looked up... and the stars were really beautiful... so I wanted to touch them... so I reached up and it happened." She smiled. "I kind of wanted to see you."  
_And you are dying. Is that why the energy in your body is draining?_  
"You don't have to _remind_ me, I'm scared enough!" Yuuma huffed with a shudder.  
The creature stayed silent.  
"... hey, do you have a name?"  
_Astral._  
"Astral..." She nods. "Come with me, okay? I want to show you something. It won't cost you anything, right? I'm dying and you have all the time in the world. I just... I just want some company... and you know, it'd be sad if you destroy everything before seeing what it's like before, okay? You can barely see anything from here. I'll show you what the city is like. It's really pretty."  
Astral stays silent, but there's a slight shift in their face and the feeling of their light on Yuuma's skin. Curiosity, hesitation.  
"I'm Yuuma," she adds with a small smile. "Come on, let's have fun for a bit, okay? Take my hand."  
She extends her hand, maybe not quite as slowly as she should have, but she's pretty sure Astral can sense her intentions by now, and she puts all of her warmth into it. Astral stares at it quietly, before finally extending one of their arms, as slow and graceful as Yuuma herself is not, and delicately lets their fingers meet.  
The starlight on Yuuma's skin flares.

It's like she herself is made of stars for one blinding second, and suddenly there's power rushing through her from where her hand touched Astral's, power like the burn of a newborn sun, grinding inside her limbs and she wants to _scream_ , scream at the feeling of it inhabiting her flesh, her heart.  
In that second, she feels like she could destroy the world, just by craddling it.  
_Yuuma._  
She can't hear anything through the blaze of starfire in her hears, but Astral's voice resonates in her body anyway, and it's urgent and wary and surprisingly affected.  
"As- _aaaa--_ "  
She screams, and Astral's hand moves to grip hers, pull her close, their other hand resting on her back.  
And suddenly it changes, the power no longer burning through her but _flowing_ , from Astral to her and back, brushing inside her flesh like running your hand through water, choking her a little with its intensity but no longer as painful, no longer as destructive. It's like being held in Astral's power instead of just their arms, and she takes a deep breath, and another one, trying her best to blink the blinding white out of her eyes.  
_Yuuma. What did you do?_  
There's concern, she notes through the daze on her mind. But at her, or at Astral themself? Did it hurt them too?  
"I--" she panics a little and her breath catches a little again, forcing her to take another deep breath. "I don't know! I just took your hand and--"  
_I can see it._  
"Huh?"  
_I can see the space of your sky._  
Her sky?  
She blinks at Astral's face, confused, for a few seconds before the "space" part makes it click.  
"... you can see my field?"  
_There is a space around you that follows its own rules. I can see its edges. It is resonating._  
She nods, dumbstruck but suddenly hopeful, swallowing before asking the fateful question--  
"Can you pull me out?"  
Astral may be a monster, but if they can _see_ it...  
_No._  
Something hard and painful catches in her throat.  
"... it's okay. I shouldn't have asked--should've known--"  
_It seems I have entered it by accident_ , Astral continues, their voice tilted slightly like it's working out an interesting puzzle. _My power has linked with it._ They frown. _... bound to it._  
Yuuma gasps.  
"I'm sorry--I didn't do that on purpose, I _swear_ \--"  
_You are no longer 'dying.'_  
Yuuma blinks. In the wake of pain and shock, she hadn't taken the time to pay attention to the state her body was in, but. It's true. The horrible weariness is gone, replaced by a softer sleepiness, the kind you get after a long, well spent day. Her arms work properly again. She feels drained, a bit raw from Astral's power in her, but not empty.  
"... you're right." And then softer: "How..."  
_I am in your field_ , Astral repeats. And maybe that's it, maybe they're linked enough that Astral's power takes her own magic's place. Astral looks at her, straight in the eye, and for once Yuuma isn't sure what they're thinking. It's not blank, not neutral, but not an expression she can really pinpoint either. _It seems I have no choice but to accept your invitation, for the time being._  
"Won't it drain you too?" she blurts out. "If you're linked to my field, then it's gonna drain _you_ instead--"  
_My resources are not as finite as yours._  
Oh. She shuts up, suddenly reminded by how far Astral's powers actually outstrip her own. That even though they had been beautiful, Astral had still been about to destroy Newton, as casually as one might step on a line of ants.  
But then, they're not killing anyone right now, are they? Not... not even her, she suddenly realises.  
If Astral was bound to her, all they'd have to do to free themself is kill her, right?  
It must have reached them through the still-flowing link between them, because Astral looks her in the eye again.  
_You are interesting. I have no pressing need to kill you. Things will go back to their natural state eventually._  
Which means they're just waiting for her to die on her own, she thinks, caught somewhere between bitterness and amusement. But right now, the relief of not dying today is too big to resent them.  
And for now, at least, no one seems to be dying either.  
"Dodged _that_ bullet at least," she chuckles under her breath.  
_Bullet?_  
"I'll explain--" she yawns, suddenly, and her mind starts scrambling, because oh god, if she's coming back with Astral in tow there's going to be a lot of explaining to do--on both sides-- "later..."  
_Yuuma?_  
She grows aware, again, of their linked hands, of Astral's hand on her back, of how much it looks and feels like an embrace. _I barely know you_ , she mentally cries out, tired and helpless, because here she is, up there alone in the sky, and her entire life has just changed.  
And yet...  
_Not alone_ , another part of her claims, and she laughs, tears falling down her cheeks, because it's true, she can already feel the safety in Astral's hold, and is that what having a familiar is supposed to feel like?  
The thought that runs through her mind and makes her laugh, as Astral's voice calls her name again, confused by her tears, is that _hey, I_ was _a witch after all_.  
Even if things didn't exactly turn out as planned.  
_Yuuma_ , Astral's voice calls again, and this time there's definitely some kind of concern to it. She wonders if it had always been there or if her own humanity is bleeding into them, like their power into her.  
"I'm all right. Just tired."  
_Your human body is not built to channel this kind of power_ , Astral agrees, as if they were trying to sound wise, and she'd laugh and make a comment about _you sure know how to talk to girls_ if she didn't know they meant it completely honestly. It's not about showing off.  
"I'll get used to it," she says with a dismissive wave. "It's a challenge, okay? I never back down from a challenge."  
Astral studies her like they're about to ask something along the lines of _what is the point of a challenge_ , so she just grins and winks.  
"There's no point in giving without trying, right? The harder the challenge, the better it feels when you succeed, and the more you get to _do_. You just have to bring it. That's what my dad always said." _Before he went and died_ , she adds mentally, but that kind of detail can always come later.  
_So surviving my power is 'bringing it'?_  
"That's right! Although--" she yawns again, "right now I'd rather bring myself to bed."  
_Will you require help?_  
The offer takes her by surprise, almost suspiciously gentle in intent. But then again, what reason does she have not to trust Astral? If they wanted to kill her, they would have done so already. They would have nothing to gain from lying to her, if they could at all.  
"... yeah. Yeah, I'd like that." She smiles faintly. "'And then when I'm rested, we can tour the city, okay? If you're sticking around, I can show you a lot more."  
Astral's arm around her tightens, and they're floating down, the cloak of starlight contracting on itself and following them before being absorbed in Astral's body, revealing the normal day sky above the city.  
Coming down feels like a dream. Just a couple of hours ago she'd been dozing off in class, and now...  
_Now you have a familiar_ , she tells herself, and maybe it's not what she had hoped for or expected, but it's better than being dead, and besides, who is she to back down from something just because it's unusual.  
No one's ever had a monster familiar before? Well someone had to start someday.  
_You are a strange human_ , Astral's voice tells her from inside her body.  
"I hear that a lot," she answers with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art of Yuuma from this verse can be found [here](http://x0whitelily0x.tumblr.com/post/118876333879/a-sketch-of-yuuma-from-lins-ciel-au)!


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuma wakes up to a brightly lit room, and to Astral's face hovering a few breaths away from hers.  
_Yuuma_ , is the quiet, almost factual first word she hears, and that's what really makes it feel irrevocable.  
"Astral," she answers, rubbing her eyes. She shifts a little, feels the muscles of her body complain, like they've been stiff for too long. "... how long have I been sleeping?"  
_Your planet has gone through two revolutions and is halfway through a third._ She blinks, and Astral explains further. _The levels of activity in the building seemed to use these cycles as template._  
"Two days then." Well, that would explain the state her body is in. She's going to need to run a few laps before it feels anything close to normal.  
And then it hits her.  
"Who put me to bed?"  
The last thing she remembers is fainting, halfway through explaining the situation to Miss Ena, and thankfully _after_ better explaining the situation to Astral, who had almost obliterated Kaito when he tried to grab her as they landed.  
(He was just worried, he didn't mean any harm, it's normal for human friends to touch each other, okay, look, Kotori wanted to check up on her too, and oh, good, her skin might still glow a little but at least she's not burning the skin off people when she tries to touch them, that's a good thing at least.  
Please don't kill anyone while I sleep)  
When she thinks about it, it's a miracle things went without any major incident.  
_I did_ , is Astral's answer. _The taller human you were speaking to gave me instructions._  
Taller human--  
"Ena," she grumbles, trying to sit up to stretch. "Her name is Ena." She pushes the sheets away a little, and smiles when she finds the inner layer of her uniform still on her body, only the outside dress taken away. Familiar or no, she wasn't exactly keen on having someone handle her naked body. Bless Ena. "It's easier if you refer to people by name, you know."  
Astral nods.  
And on that note--  
"Hey, can you help me out of bed? I really need to go wash up, these clothes are going to stink if I stay in them."  
_Yes._  
Astral bends closer again and starts wrapping their arms around her.  
"Wh--no wait not like that!"  
_What do you mean_.  
"Don't just carry me, I can _walk_ okay, just--look, if you stand near the bed and hold out your hand, I can use it as leverage."  
Astral lets her go and does as instructed, and she takes hold of their hand, more delicately than she would normally have, and pulls herself upright, swinging her legs off the bed and onto the ground.  
And that's when the realisation hits.  
She _can't_ walk after all.  
"... I'm still in my field."  
Her feet hover in the air, just a breath away from the ground. Again, the choking sense of irrevocable change hits her, chilling her stomach, but she pushes it away. She'll just have to learn how to walk like this. It's her field, she can do it.  
And really, she's lucky she didn't just float off the bed and through the window or something.  
One foot after the other, she thinks. Step by step. Imagine the air is solid. It's yours to shape, remember?  
She takes a first step, wavering a little before she can find her footing. Astral's grip on her hand tightens, both painful and heartwarming. She takes a deep breath and then another step. And another.  
_Why do you insist on walking?_  
"It makes me feel more normal, okay? And I don't wanna freak out people even more by gliding around." _The way you do_ , she doesn't add.  
Bathroom. She needs to get to the bathroom, relieve the neglected bladder that's now painfully calling for her attention, get the sweat off her skin, then clothes. Fresh clothes.  
And then they can...  
... do what, exactly? Go to class? Pretend everything is normal? She's not sure she's entirely ready for that yet.  
Something nags at her brain. _Two days and a half..._ She looks out of her window and finds the sky dark.  
"... Hey, Astral. After I'm done changing, want to go for a walk? I promised you I'd show you the city."

Changing takes longer than expected. Between managing her shaky steps and explaining to Astral the concept of privacy and why it should be applied to bathrooms in particular, she's feeling rather drained when she finally adjusts the school crest on her uniform.  
The pull of fresh air is too strong to resist, though, and after leaving a quickly scribbled note in case someone comes in and finds her gone, she takes Astral's hand again and flies out of the window, drifting over the school's buildings before dropping down on the street, feet still just above the ground.  
"Good thing it's like three," she muses, suddenly self-aware. "At least we won't cause a panic."  
She senses Astral's question coming before they even start it, and explains.  
"People are going to be scared of you after the other day. Can't exactly blame them."  
_Is that a problem?_  
"Well--panic, people screaming, demanding explanations, trying to gang up on us out of fear..."  
_They would be no match for me._  
"Yeah I _know_ that but that's not the problem--look, no attacking people, all right? Even if they start it. It'll cause more problems than it's worth," she adds, trying to _rationalise_ what should have been obvious. "And they can't hurt you anyway, right?"  
_They can't._ A pause, and the inflexion in Astral's mental voice is unhappy, though which way exactly, Yuuma isn't sure. _But they can harm you._  
Yuuma grins.  
"Don't underestimate me," she says as she punches the air. "I'm first in PE class, I can take care of myself. And anyway, if it gets dangerous we can just fly away, right?"  
_I suppose so._  
It's probably the best answer she'll get, so she just nods and walks on, letting her knowledge of the city and its streets make up for the lost feeling of the pavement under her feet.

It's strange. The city is familiar and alien at the same time, as if the time she'd spent walking its streets a few weeks ago was a lifetime away. The life that she loved so much, people moving about the streets, feels muffled, as if the entire city was breathing through a veil.  
She's been on the street at night before. It never felt like this.  
"... I think everyone is still scared," she murmurs.  
Astral, for once, doesn't ask for an explanation.  
"... c'mon," she says, eager to shake off the uneasy feeling. "I'll show you the gardens."

The park, at least, is as lively as it always is at night, the animals that had fled it in the few days before Astral's appearance finally returned. Yuuma feels her cheer and strength returning, jumping ahead towards the small artificial lake, and forgets herself enough to try a cartwheel on the way, remembering the "floating" detail just on time to lose her balance and fall down in an undignified heap.  
When she pulls herself back upright, Astral is looking at her.  
"I forgot," she says with a sheepish smile. "And I'm _really_ out of shape."  
_How does one go about fixing this?_  
"The out of shape part? Just work out, move a lot, that kind of thing. I'm just rusty from sleeping for so long, I'll be back in no time."  
Astral nods and floats past her, observing the lake and the trees flanking it.  
Yuuma stays where she is on the ground (or a breath above it anyway) and pulls her knees up to her chest.  
"... hey Astral?"  
_Yes._  
"Why are you looking out for me anyway?" It's probably not the smartest question to ask, especially since Astral _had_ kind of been ready to destroy the city, if not more, and them attaching themself to her is probably what stopped it, but it keeps nagging at her and she wants to know. Why Astral was so defensive when people tried to pull her away two days ago. Why they're following her now, looking at her when she falls with something that isn't quite concern but isn't exactly neutrality either. "Why do you care if I get hurt or not?"  
_I accepted your invitation to keep you company. We do not go back on a pact._ There's a pause, and then they go on. Maybe her hunch about them being unable to lie was right. _Your "field" resonated with me, and I would like to know why._  
"You said it was like the sky, right? So like. Sky. Stars." She waved her hand vaguely, not really finding it in herself to explain her reasoning better.  
_That is a possibility._  
The silence stretches on, and Yuuma watches Astral for a while, the way their form illuminates their surrounding softly, giving the impression of a night too bright, a glittering full moon. She can see through their body, if she looks carefully, to the darkness inside and on the other side, and she remembers with a shudder what Master Eliphas had said on stars, that some of them drank all the light and matter around them, a void to balance the light.  
She rests her head on her knees and closes her eyes, listening to the water and the quiet chirping of birds preparing for dawn.  
_Is this body of water human-made? It is not geologically sound._  
"The lake? Yeah they build it for the park."  
_What purpose does it serve?_  
"It's pretty. And you can have fun rowing on it. Some people swim in it in the summer, there's a pier over there..." An idea strikes her, and she stands up. "Hey, since I float now..."  
Astral doesn't answer, but takes her offered hand anyway, following her to the edge of the lake.  
Her first step on the water's surface is shaky, but as soon as she's made sure that she won't sink, she takes another step, gaining confidence as she goes. The water moves in wavelets as she walks, and it feels strangely magical and satisfying to actually touch something with her feet, even if it's just barely. She turns, takes both of Astral's hands in hers, and pulls them along with her, laughter rising in her throat. The water reflects their light, just like it reflects the actual stars above, and it feels like skating on them.  
"See?" she asks with a grin. "It's fun, right?"  
Astral's face shows mostly confusion, but it's the most emotion Yuuma has ever seen on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another illustration for this chapter, found [here](http://x0whitelily0x.tumblr.com/post/118944451114/an-illustration-for-the-last-starlight-story)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time, because I figured the next part worked better as a chapter of its own (introducing new characters yay)

Going to class with Astral turns out to be both a blessing and a headache of its own.  
On one hand, getting them to act civil around other humans and getting _other humans_ to act civil around them takes more mental energy than Yuuma likes spending. Astral is both wary and haughty, and while Master Eliphas and Miss Ena take to Astral's presence pretty well (Eliphas with matter of fact resignation, Ena with surprising grace and understanding), the students' reactions range from nervous to aggressive rejection.  
By the end of the first day, Yuuma almost wishes Astral _wasn't_ strangely protective of her, because she's had to defuse too many interspecies conflicts.  
On the other hand, once Astral realises that class will give them more information than Yuuma herself, and often faster, they take to hovering next to her and listening quietly, which is both an enormous relief and somewhat cute.  
It helps, too, because it means she doesn't have to explain the basics as much. And after a few days, she finds that Astral's perfect memory is invaluable when it comes to late homework.

Kotori, as a true Best Friend (and Yuuma could hug her a hundred times, really), does her best to forget about the whole "nearly destroyed the city" part and makes a point of including Yuuma in her activities as much as she used to, and including Astral in their conversations.  
"They're your familiar now, right? So it's normal."  
She often has words where Yuuma needs to rely on actions, and having her support soon builds back some kind of normalcy in her life, especially when Cathy gets over her own suspicions and joins in after her own familiar.  
It's like being a normal group of friends, aside from the part where Yuuma still hovers above the ground when she tries to walk and Astral isn't human at all.  
Yuuma can't help but wish Kaito was as accomodating. Their upperclassman had never been on the fluffy side, but she'd managed to gain his trust and friendship in the weeks following her escapade into the city. Kaito, it seemed, respected resourcefulness and skill.  
Not so much now. There's an edge to him whenever he looks at Astral that says _I haven't forgotten_ , and okay, Yuuma can understand why he'd be distrustful, but she wishes Kaito would trust _her_ , at least.

So she approaches the problem the way she does everything else: by just doing things until they work. If Astral can get along so well with Kotori, surely they can find common ground with Kaito, who's so aggressively pragmatic.  
("Rational" might be pushing it a little, if she's _completely_ honest)

_Yuuma_ , Astral asks one day as they hang out in her room, Yuuma almost pointlessly trying to remember a long list of dates from her history class. _Kaito can exit his field._  
"Yeah," Yuuma answers, and suddenly the downside of spending so much time with Kaito becomes obvious, but that question had to come someday, didn't it?  
 _Why? You said witches need help to exit their field._ She turns to look at Astral, trying to word things in her head while they continue. _I do not think you were lying. You are not the kind of human who would let themself die on purpose to trick someone._  
It makes her laugh, the irony in the question mixed with genuine happiness that Astral _trusts_ her.  
"He's a sorcerer. Witches and sorcerers are different. Their magic is more..." she hunts for words for a few moments, "direct? Simple? You say a word, it happens. It's easier but you can't do as many things with it. But as payback, they don't get drawn into their field as deeply as us, so they don't get stuck."  
 _So the difference is in complexity?_  
"That and power, yeah. Witches--well you saw how we work in class, right?" she points out, wondering whether things would have been easier or harder had Astral been there for that first lesson, the one where old insecurities had come back to nag at her. "Complex spells, clauses, all that. It's more versatile and more powerful. But we can't work without a familiar."  
Astral nods, and for a moment Yuuma thinks the conversation will end there, but they move closer and sit in the air next to her.  
 _How does one know? I don't think it would be viable to make them all open them to check._  
"Well, usually you know for yourself. But--" Words. "... when you're born, they look at your body and make... an educated guess? There's differences, so you know--and most of the time it works, but sometimes it doesn't." She smiles and shrugs a little. "They got it wrong for me."  
 _They assumed you would be a sorcerer?_  
"It's a bit more complicated cause not _everyone_ has magic, but yeah that's it more or less."  
Astral stays silent for a few moments, sorting through the information.  
 _Wouldn't that be dangerous? For someone like you to be sorted wrong?_  
She laughs, this time, and is glad that Astral isn't that good at subtle nuances of emotions.  
"Yeah," she says, a bit more quietly than she'd wanted. "Yeah it is." She takes a deep breath and gives Astral a more genuine smile. "But! Miss Ena and Master Eliphas listened to me when I told them I was a witch, so I wasn't in danger. Well, until I went and opened my field anyway."  
Astral looks at her in silence, the way they do sometimes when they're feeling something they have no words for. She's almost squirming on her seat when they finally declare:  
 _I am glad you did not die._  
"H-huh?"  
 _Being with you is an interesting experience._  
Yuuma's cheeks heat up, and after the first moment of shock she flails a little, batting Astral's hand away.  
"Where did _that_ come from? You ass--"  
The rest of the sentence drops when she catches what almost looks like a smile on Astral's face.


End file.
